My big question is whether there are phthalates in cheese molds such as those made from "dairythene" or whatever that name is. I do try hard to avoid exposure although don't spend a lot of worry...just do my best to make decisions that limit my exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds, knowing full well there's no way to really avoid them.

I think the bottom line here is that, if you don't know what is in the material, you probably should not use it for food. I would especially apply this to anything acidic or heated, such as cheese curd. I'll stick to stainless steel and Dairylene molds. You guys do whatever you like.

My big question is whether there are phthalates in cheese molds such as those made from "dairythene" or whatever that name is. I do try hard to avoid exposure although don't spend a lot of worry...just do my best to make decisions that limit my exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds, knowing full well there's no way to really avoid them.

Tiarella, from the little bit of 'research' I've done on this subject because of this topic, I see that Europe and the US are pretty much the toughest on the standards (now don't get crazy on me, any of you folks from Down Under, just because I didn't mention you--I have only had a quick look-see and that didn't turn up anything from NZ or Oz--both of which I LOVE!). Some of the links I gave show how bad much of Asia can be (no, I'm not beating anyone up here, folks, just citing what I found).

The molds from places like France are probably among the safest, just because the EU is actually much tougher, in general, that the US is for chemicals used in crops, science applications, drugs, etc. There are lots of ag chemicals we use here that the EU no longer allows.

I see that Europe and the US are pretty much the toughest on the standards (now don't get crazy on me, any of you folks from Down Under, just because I didn't mention you--I have only had a quick look-see and that didn't turn up anything from NZ or Oz--both of which I LOVE!). Some of the links I gave show how bad much of Asia can be (no, I'm not beating anyone up here, folks, just citing what I found).

The molds from places like France are probably among the safest, just because the EU is actually much tougher, in general, that the US is for chemicals used in crops, science applications, drugs, etc. There are lots of ag chemicals we use here that the EU no longer allows.

I actually looked at making a 6 1/2" mold from pvc and found it was just as cheap to buy a "proper" mold from my local home-brew shop without the hassle of drilling all those holes. I am glad he is a little out of my as I now have the 6 1/5" I used for my Jarlsberg and Cheddar, a 5" (which I haven't used but I saw it and liked it's dimensions) and a Ricotta basket and cup. My last visit there he said "here comes my best cheese-making customer"